(pronounced yu-OP-lo-SEF-ah-lus)
Dinosaur bone unearthed in Burnsville!
Yes, the DinoCache sensation has finally reached the southern
suburbs. Recently we partook in an expedition to Hidden Valley Park
on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Paul. While there we
unearthed three caches. The final cache,
DinoCache: The Valley, unearthed the DinoCache which has now
been found in Burnsville. Thanks to
ShoeStorm for creating this series. For more information on
this unique dinosaur, read below.
Euoplocephalus, meaning 'well-armored head,' was about the size of
a small elephant, roughly 20 ft long and 8ft wide. It weighed about
2.2 tons and lived between 85 and 65 million years ago. All four
legs were tipped with hoof-like claws. It had a flat, thick,
triangular skull, with little capacity for a brain. However, it did
have a bony club at the end of its rigid tail, which it carried in
a raised position. The tail was muscular, so the club could be
swung from side to side for defense. For more defense, the entire
head and body of the Euoplocephalus were covered with bands of
armor, made of hardened skin and bone.